Next on the Tee: Big Ten Championships
Postseason play is finally here! The University of Michigan women's golf team will shift its focus toward its second season as the Wolverines travel to French Lick, Ind., Friday through Sunday (April 25-27) for the 54-hole Big Ten Conference Championships. For the third straight year, the conference event will be held at a neutral site, the French Lick Resort's Pete Dye Course. The conference tournament will be played in a 6-count-4 format with the Dye Course set up for a par of 72 at 6,017 yards.

 Michigan returns nearly the same lineup from last year's Big Ten Championships, with freshman Grace Choi the only newcomer. The remaining five Wolverines have competed in 11 postseason conference tournaments combined, led by seniors Yugene Lee and Alyssa Shimel, who will compete for the fourth time each this weekend.

 Grace Choi leads the U-M team in the following categories: scoring average (75.36), top-five and top-10 finishes (2), top-20 finishes (3), rounds under par (2), and win percentage (64.5 percent). She has led U-M in four events this season, the most of any individual.

 The combination of Grace Choi and Lauren Grogan finished as the top pair of Michigan finishers in five of nine events this season, including each of the final three tournaments.

 When Lauren Grogan tied for second at the Hoya Invitational (March 31-April 1), she matched Grace Choi's tie for second at the Clover Cup Invitational (March 14-16) for the highest finish by any U-M player this season.

 Lauren Grogan and Grace Choi have combined for eight of the 11 top-25 finishes by U-M players this season. Grogan tied for 20th at the Palmetto Intercollegiate (Oct. 27-28), tied for 24th at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic (Feb. 16-18) and tied for 23rd at the Clover Cup Invitational (March 14-16). Choi tied for 20th, tied for 24th and tied for second at the same three events prior to finishing fourth at the Hoya Invitational.

 Yugene Lee set a career-best 18-hole score with her final-round 74 at the Hoya Invitational (March 31-April 1). With a tie for 10th place, Lee earned her first top-20 finish of the season and the ninth of her career.

 When competing in the Hoya Invitational (March 31-April 1), the Maize and Blue finished with all five players in the top 25 of the tournament field, including three Wolverines among the top 10 and a pair among the top five. Prior to that, U-M players had totaled one top-five finish and two top-10 finishes all season. The last time five or more U-M players placed in the top 25 of the same tournament was the 2012 Wolverine Invitational (Sept. 22-23, 2012), when five players placed in the field's top 17.

 Lauren Grogan is one of four different Wolverine starters who have lowered their scoring average from a year ago. Grogan's average has dipped from 76.87 to 76.44, while fellow starters Catherine Peters (79.25 to 77.63), Yugene Lee (81.29 to 77.68) and Alyssa Shimel (80.44 to 78.36) have also seen their numbers drop.

 Grace Choi continues to improve with each closing round as she averages 75.56 in the first round and 75.67 in the second round before closing strong with 74.71 in the final round.

 Alyssa Shimel and Yugene Lee are U-M's most experienced players with 39 career events each. Shimel has started all 39 of her career events, while Lee has totaled 35 starts thus far.

 After starting 10 events last season, Lauren Grogan has continued playing in every event this season. She has started 21 consecutive events for U-M through the close of the 2013-14 regular season.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan wrapped up its regular season with a tie for 15th behind a 909 team total at the Web.com Intercollegiate held April 7-8 at Marsh Landing Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. Leading the way for U-M for the fourth time this season was Grace Choi, who finished in a tie for 50th place with a 227 total. Choi finished one stroke ahead of teammate Lauren Grogan (228), who in turn finished one stroke ahead of teammate Catherine Peters (229). Rounding out the scoring for U-M, Yugene Lee posted a 233 total while Alyssa Shimmel shot a 235. [ Recap ]